Never Again
by KittySparkfrost
Summary: Heathertail always loved Breezepelt. Once he's exiled by Crowfeather, Onestar sends a patrol to get him, and Heathertail continues playing with his feelings. But Breezepelt has had enough-he's moved onto someone else. And Heathertail will do everything to get him back. Nothing has ever mattered more-not even friendships. Sorry for lousy summary! Rated T because it's Warriors.
1. Chapter 1

**WINDCLAN **

**Leader:** Onestar-brown tabby tom

**Deputy:** Gorsetail-gray and white tom

**Medicine Cat:** Kestrelflight-mottled gray tom

**Warriors: **

Crowfeather-Dark gray tom

Whitetail-small white she-cat

Weaselfur-ginger tom with white paws

Harespring-brown and white tom

Apprentice, Plumpaw (gray she-cat with blue eyes)

Leaftail-dark tabby with amber eyes

Emberfoot-gray tom with two dark paws

Apprentice, Thornpaw (Brown tom with amber eyes)

Heathertail-light brown she-cat with blue eyes

Furzepelt-gray and white she-cat

Willowclaw-gray she-cat

Apprentice, Maplepaw (Tabby she-cat)

Swallowtail-black she-cat

Whiskernose-light brown tom

Sunstrike-tortoiseshell with white mark on forehead

**Queens: **

Sedgewhisker-light brown tabby she-cat

Swiftfeather-gray she-cat, mother to Redkit and Mousekit

**Elders: **

Webfoot-gray tabby tom

Tornear-tabby tom

Ashfoot-Gray she-cat, former deputy

**THUNDERCLAN**

**Leader: **Bramblestar-dark brown tabby tom

**Deputy: **Squirrelflight-Ginger she-cat

**Medicine Cat: **Jayfeather-gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

**RIVERCLAN**

**Leader: **Mistystar-gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Deputy: **Reedwhisker-black tom

**Medicine Cat: **Mothwing-dappled golden she-cat

**Apprentice: **Willowshine-gray tabby she-cat

**SHADOWCLAN **

**Leader: **Blackstar-white tom with one large black paw

**Deputy:** Rowanclaw-ginger tom

**Medicine Cat:** Littlecloud-old white tom

**Apprentice:** Duskpaw-gray she-cat with green eyes

**CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS**

Breezepelt-black tom with amber eyes

Nightcloud-black she-cat with amber eyes

Citrus-ginger female with green eyes

Lightning- ginger tom with amber eyes

Feather-kit of Citrus and Lightning. Ginger tabby with green eyes.


	2. Missing Him

**A/N: Adopted from KatieK101. Credit for idea goes to her! If you have free time, check out her adoptable stories. They're all great ideas with canon characters you can use if you request them! This is one of my first stories on here: I am sorry for any random bolds or misspellings! The story takes place at the lake. Erin Hunter owns all characters in this story, excluding Maplepaw, Plumpaw, Thornpaw, Mousekit, Redkit, Swiftfeather and Citrus. Please review! (: **

* * *

_Heathertail opened her blue eyes. She was on the vast moor._

_There he was. _

_Breezepelt's black fur was ruffling in the wind, his amber eyes had a playful spark in them. _

_"You came back!" The she-cat twitched her tail with joy._

_Breezepelt buried his muzzle in Heathertail's fur. "I would never leave you-I only had to escape my father." _

_Licking Breezepelt's ear, Heathertail purred, and then-_

Waking up in the WindClan warrior's den, Heathertail let out a regretful sigh. The Dark Forest Battle had been two moons ago. Breezepelt had been gone for two moons. She wouldn't see him again. Ever.

Next to her, she felt her best friend, Sunstrike, stir. Feeling a soft breeze ruffling her pelt and sunlight dapple her tail, the light brown she-cat nudged the tortoiseshell. Wake up, hedgehog! We're the only warriors left in the den except for Emberfoot, and he was guarding the camp half the night!" Heathertail cuffed Sunstrike's ear playfully. "

Sunstrike lifted her tortoiseshell head. "What do you want?" She asked crankily, not a morning cat at all.

"C'mon, let's get up!" She said, anxious be out running free on the moor. The sunlight dappling your pelt, the adrenaline pumping in your veins, the wind in your ears.

Sunstrike got up, stretching. "Remember how Breezepelt would always get us up at the crack of dawn?" She asked, a sad gleam in her eyes. "Volunteering for Dawn Patrol a bunch?"

Heathertail nodded. "I miss him." The cat the other clan saw as a horrible, bossy, annoying fur-ball. And Breezepelt could be that as well, but deep down he was an affectionate, loyal, proud warrior of WindClan. A great hunter, too! _Who could have been my mate-if only he had stayed. Some cats thought it was mean the way I teased him, but I loved him inside. _

Sunstrike's voice pulled Heathertail out of her thoughts. "You HAVE to ask Onestar to send a search party. He's your father, after all!"

"I don't know..." the other warrior hesitated. "Onestar is proud. He wouldn't want to have to ask a warrior to join-it would sound like begging."

"Then mention it to your mother! Whitetail will surely listen!" Begged the dappled tortoiseshell. "You do want Breezepelt back, _right?" _She pressed. "There's no denying he was one of the Clan's best hunters-remember that day in leaf-bare when he brought home three whole rabbits? The kits and elders had full bellies, as well as a few apprentices! The clan would suffer if he left." Sunstrike's lulling and persuasive voice almost convinced Heathertail-but not quite. She wasn't going to be persuaded that easily.

"No! I won't. Look, I agree with you. But Plumpaw, Maplepaw, and Thornpaw were apprenticed a moon and a half ago, and they're great hunters! Not to mention Furzepelt, whom _I _trained, Whiskernose and Boulderfur. All three are great warriors! If that's not enough, Sedgewhisker is having kits in two moons. The clan is bursting!"

"If you agree, then WHY won't you just ask?" Sunstrike asked, hackles raised.

Across the sheltered area that made the den, Emberfoot lifted his head. "Get out, both of you! Gorsetail will have your heads off and use you for rabbit food if you don't get to your duties!" He hissed, irritated.

Heathertail knew it was true. During the Dark Forest Battle, Ashfoot had wrenched a shoulder. Her body was wearing down, and so she retired to the elders. Now that Onestar had chosen Gorsetail, the whole clan was much more orderly, where Ashfoot had been a bit more lenient and forgiving. Not so with Gorsetail. If you missed a patrol, you went on the next one and were stuck with guard duty for part of the night.

Flicking her tail, she motioned for Sunstrike to follow her out of the den. Rolling her eyes, the tortoiseshell followed. "We'll continue this later-I'm due for a hunting patrol. I can't believe you, Heathertail." Then Sunstrike stalked away.

* * *

A while later, Heathertail's paws led her to the patch of woods on WindClan's territory, located near the ThunderClan border. Sitting down, she thought about what had just happened. The truth was, she wanted Breezepelt back more then anything in the world. She wanted to be his mate, feel his fur. But she couldn't go leave the clan-the last time she had snuck away to somewhere, as a foolish apprentice, her unknowing heart had been broken and trampled like grass by a cat's paw. And she couldn't talk to Onestar-they weren't close like many WindClan families were. Heathertail supposed it was because of his responsibility-although she often saw Mistystar talking to her son-also the deputy-at Gatherings. Heathertail worried that Onestar would scoff at her and disown her completely-few cats outside WindClan even knew she was Onestar's only kit. All she ever wanted to do was please him.

Getting to her paws, Heathertail suddenly knew what she had to do. Nothing was more important then friendship. Nothing. When Sunstrike came back from her patrol and she herself had caught a piece of prey, together they would go to Onestar's den. She had to face her fear, or nothing would ever happen.

Comforting herself with that thought, she began searching for an unsuspecting piece of prey.

* * *

As sunhigh arrived, Heathertail padded back to camp, a juicy rabbit in her jaws. Dropping it on the pile, she saw Sunstrike talking to Swallowtail. _Great StarClan, don't tell me she's done with our friendship and moved on to another Best Friend already! Please, let her forgive me. _Heathertail prayed.

Swiftly padding over to the corner of camp, she caught snippets of their conversation.

"Should come back? He's a great hunter!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Sunstrike. Onestar doesn't accept rogues-you remember when that tabby loner came last new-leaf."

"But Breezepelt isn't a rogue-he's clanborn. Besides, it's not-" She cut off suddenly when she saw Heathertail. "What do you want, _Heathertail?_" She asked curtly.

Heathertail turned to Swallowtail. "Excuse me, hope you don't mind if Sunstrike and I have a talk?"

"Of course not. Go right ahead." The she-cat sat down.

"Um...in private." Heathertail added meaningfully, hoping Swallowtail would get the hint.

Her amber eyes widened with understanding. "Oh...of course. I better go talk to Gorsetail." The black cat padded off, leaving Sunstrike alone with Heathertail. The silence was awkward, for a minute neither cat spoke, Sunstrike just glared.

"Look, I'm sorry. You're right, we need to talk to Onestar. I miss Breezepelt as much as you do and I hope your not mad and I just want you to know-" Heathertail stopped her flood of words when, letting out an amused purr, her friend help up her tail, signaling for silence.

"I'm so glad you finally came to your senses. There's no reason to feel upset-most of the clan is aware you want to make Onestar proud." Sunstrike gave Heathertail a swift lick on the cheek and purred.

Heathertail did the same. "Wait-what do you mean, _most of the clan knows?" _

"Oh, nothing. Nothing important. Now, I don't want you loosing your nerve. We better go speak to Onestar!" Tactfully changing the subject, Sunstrike urged a baffled Heathertail toward the Leader's Den. "C'mon, slow slug!"

Stepping inside the sandy alcove that served as the Leader's Den, Onestar was grooming Whitetail. When the two younger warriors came in, Onestar looked up. "What do you need?" He asked pleasantly. "Sit down." He cocked his head to one side, looking curious at why his daughter and daughter's best friend were here.

"We need to talk to you about one thing. You see-"

Heathertail flashed a scorching glare at Sunstrike. _Let me talk. This is my battle. _She willed Sunstrike to understand. After a moment's silence, it became clear she did.

"Yes?" The clan leader asked.

Heathertail took over. "We think you need to bring Breezepelt...and Nightcloud back to the Clan. breezepelt was a great hunter, and almost no cat was better at the belly turn-flip battle move then him."

Whitetail's tail was twitching. "Do you two know what you're asking?"

Heathertail sunk her claws into the peaty earth. "Yes." She felt as though a bumblebee was buzzing in her stomach. She knew Sunstrike felt the same, although she didn't show it. Her gree eyes were calm, she was sitting with her tail wrapped around her paws. even her fur was neatly groomed. _Why didn't I think to give myself a good wash? _She could only imagine how her pelt looked.

Onestar stood up. "You present a good case. I won't deny that. And Breezepelt is a value to the clan, as is Nightcloud. However, my answer is no."

Heathertail felt like she had been plunged in a cold river and forced to swallow bitter herbs. _"No?"_


	3. Taking Action

**A/N Hey, it's Kitty again! Once again, Warrior Cats belong to Erin Hunter except for the ones listed in the previous chapter. KatieK101 owns the storyline, check out her adoptable stories! First off, thanks to all who read and put up with a few spelling and grammar errors, a special thanks to Cookie Platter, Silverdapple and Pebblewish for being the only reviewers. Second, you have my apologies, this chapter will be better! And I know the last chapter was a bit dull, but don't worry, this chapter will get more exciting as well, especially near the end. Third, I am sorry for the lull in between updates. This chapter is 2000 words to make up for it. Also, as I forgot to mention in chapter one, Lightning belongs to Pebblewish. Finally, I have discovered that a page I looked at Gorsetail was incorrect, and he is actually female. However, since there was also a male Gorsetail of WindClan, shown in Dawn, I am choosing to believe that this is that Gorsetail, with a slightly different appearance. **

* * *

Shadows dappled the open moor ground at night. Heathertail sat just a bit away from camp, tail twined with Sunstrike, trying to think of a reasonable solution. As she thought, a gentle breeze blew overhead, and storm-clouds covered the sky. New-leaf rainfall would be here soon. "I can't believe he said no!" Cried Sunstrike in frustration, giving a little wail in agony. Her claws scored the ground, leaving torn up earth and vicious-looking claw-marks where lush grass and a few stalks of daisies had been only a few moments before.

"What are we going to do now? There's nothing left to save Breezepelt." Sighed Heathertail, her tail twitching with anger at herself. _This is my fault! _

Sunstrike leaped up from her sitting position and began pacing in front of Heathertail. "What do you mean,_ nothing left? _Of course there's something left to do! There's always a third alternative!"

Heathertail cocked her head. "I didn't think we even had _two _to start with! And besides, use your head, Sunstrike! What are we going to do? Sneak out of camp just before nightfall, find Breezepelt and Nightcloud, convince them to come back the next day, and mysteriously return at dawn, hoping no cat notices our nests haven't been slept in? I think not. Those two are more stubborn then mice in a thornbush." She countered, shredding some grass in her distress. The moor's wind ruffled her fur, making her look like she was bristled up in anger. She let out an uncharacteristic hiss, but not at her friend- at herself. _If only I had been there to stop Crowfeather! _

Sunstrike sat in thoughtful silence for a minute. They her tail flew up, she was excited to the bone as she got to her feet. "Let's just keep proposing our argument-maybe to Whitetail, and the other Clan members! If they start talking about it, surely Onestar can't ignore it?"

Heathertail nodded, getting excited at the prospect. "Of course!" Looking up at the sky, she saw it was just past quarter moon. "At half-moon, we ask him again. That's about four or five sunrises." She angled her ears towards the glowing white moon.

The two nodded in unison, sealing the deal. Nothing bad would happen this time.

* * *

Upon sunrise, Heathertail found herself on the Dawn Patrol with Harespring, Plumpaw and Whiskernose. The morning was extremely windy, causing dust to fly up in the air every so often.

"Why don't we split in pairs to hunt?" Asked Whiskernose, eyes filled with exhaustion. The brown tom had been guarding the camp part of last night, and his step was drowsy-although his temper still short.

The patrol leader nodded abruptly. "Of course. I'll take my apprentice and hunt near the woods. Plumpaw needs to practice her stalking techniques. Heathertail, you go with Whiskernose to the Great Boulder. There ought to be plenty of prey there- no cat has hunted by it for days."

Without further ado, the pairs separated. _Now's my chance! _Realized Heathertail. Whiskernose had a feisty temper, but preferred agreement. Now that they were alone, Heathertail had a chance without the influence of busybody clan-mates like Willowclaw and Harespring. She shivered at the remembrance of when Harespring had been an apprentice-no cat's secrets had been safe then. She just had to be careful to not get on his bad side.

Jerking back to reality, Heathertail finally spoke up. "Boy, I sure do miss Breezepelt. He would have caught a rabbit by now!" She made her step light and her voice cheery, trying to avoid the sand blowing in her eyes.

An annoyed hiss came from the brown warrior. "I would have caught a rabbit if you hadn't interrupted me, beetle brain! And as for Breezepelt, I'd say he's better gone. Traitors like him cannot be trusted." His voice was coated with impatience. "Oh, and if you're hunting, I would advise changing your step." He flicked his tail to her feet.

"But...Sunstrike, Hollowflight, Furzepelt and Harespring all trained there, too!" Heathertail protested, losing a bit of her bounce, but still determined to change his mind.

Whiskernose snorted as he continued to stalk through the heather plants lining the earth. "Those four fought on _our _side. Breezepelt truly believed what he was doing was right. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go and catch food. You see, where I live we have to _hunt _for our food." He stalked ahead several fox-lengths.

The brown warrior was stung by her clan-mate's sarcasm. _This could be harder than we thought. _

Trudging on, Heathertail was well aware of a storm coming on. However, it surprised her when suddenly huge droplets began soaking her pelt. And she had no fresh-kill yet-Whiskernose didn't either. And it was more or less her fault. _Great StarClan-how will I explain this to Gorsetail? _Trudging miserably back to the patrol's meeting spot, she saw even Plumpaw had a fat squirrel with her.

"No prey, Heathertail?" Harespring seemed concerned, but Heathertail could detect the taunt in his voice. She had to clench her jaw, then open it again before smoothly responding, "No, I'm afraid not."

"Too bad." Harespring twitched his tail. "Isn't Whiskernose with you?"

Heathertail turned around. "Here he comes now." She responded, voice carefully neutral. Inside, though, she wanted to disappear into the tunnels her and Lionblaze had found so many moons ago.

As Whiskernose trotted to stand with the other three cats, no more words were exchanged except for a comment by Harespring. "We better go back if we want to avoid the worst of this storm when it hits."

Heathertail nodded and began slinking back to camp, head low. She didn't see why she had to be on patrol with two of the most annoying furballs in the Clan the one day she didn't catch anything. _Nothing I can do now but go out later with the next patrol. _Scolding herself made Heathertail feel better about her self-discipline, but she knew she would get more than a reprimand from Gorsetail.

They finally arrived in the camp, and Heathertail was comforted by the sounds she heard there. Mousekit and Redkit played with a large green beetle, Thornpaw was clearing the bedding of the elders. The familiar snoring of Swallowtail came from the warrior's den, and Whitetail was repairing the nursery-one of the few dens in the flat camp-with Willowclaw. Everything was at its rhythmic routine, like it always was.

Even though she had nothing to add, she followed her patrol over to the fresh-kill pile, where the watchful eyes of Gorsetail lurked. He scanned the four cats, especially praising Plumpaw for her squirrel. Then his gaze rested on Heathertail. "No prey?" He asked.

Heathertail shook her head.

"Well then, go out with the sunhigh patrol-the leader is Furzepelt. Once you bring something back, you can eat, but not until then." he decided sharply.

Nodding agreeably, inside Heathertail wanted to give him a good cuff on the ear- even though he held higher authority then her. _Who died and made _him _Clan leader? Bossy furball. _

* * *

Later that day the two plotting cats met up with each other, in the shelter of a fallen oak tree, just near the forest part of WindClan territory. Several puddles sat in the low places in the landscape, and the ground was slippery. Rain still fell steadily, and if she looked faintly, she could see a patrol of three ThunderClan warriors marking the border. "How'd it go?" Ask Heathertail glumly. Then she looked closely at her friend for the first time in the meeting. "And what happened to you?" Sunstike's glossy pelt was stained by mud.

Sunstrike's tail-tip was twitching insistently. "Not so good for me. I managed to talk to Swallowtail, Willowclaw, and Leaftail. Willowclaw partially agreed with me, and I might have gotten somewhere with Leaftail, but Crowfeather overheard and started up a riot." She cringed at the memory. "And since you asked about my pelt, I fell in a cursed mud puddle." She gave an irritated shake, then calmed down again. "Any better luck?"

Heathertail shrugged. "Not really. I spoke to Whiskernose, but he almost bit my muzzle off. And I didn't catch any prey on patrol, so I had to go out again-I'm exhausted." The she-cat groaned, stretching her tense muscles. "What are we going to do?" Her well of ideas was running low.

"I don't know...maybe you were right, Heathertail." Sunstrike looked up to the rainy sky, where a few lone warriors of StarClan shone brightly, despite the heavy clouds drifting around. "I wonder if they agree with us."

"Who? StarClan? Come on, Sunstrike. It's not like they're going to visit us in a dream with some great prophecy."

Obviously not hearing the skepticism in her clan-mate's voice, Sunstrike let out a gasp. "That's it! I'll visit the Moonpool!"

Letting out a snort, Heathertail rolled her sky blue eyes. "That's a kit-brained idea! Why would you do that?"

Sunstrike put on a hurt expression. "I know it's not the smartest idea-but what over choice do I have?" Her face was completely serious-it was obvious she completely believed in the hair-brained idea, her eyes shone with the earnestly of an apprentice ready for a new tactic.

"You need patience! We've only been at it for a day-have a little faith!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing-having faith." Retorted Sunstrike, a hint of a growl edging her voice. "I don't suppose you have any better ideas?" Sunstrike's usually sunny nature was thick with sarcasm.

For the first time in a long time, Heathertail didn't know what to think. _I want Breezepelt, too! I would give almost anything up, but hare-brained ideas like these aren't getting us anywhere. _And Sunstrike seemed absolutely positive that this was the right thing to do. She was always full of ideas-but usually they were better ones then these.

Glancing over to the ThunderClan border, she noticed the cats were no longer on ThunderClan territory-but on WindClan. Glad to change the subject, she jumped to her paws. "Sunstrike! ThunderClan!" She hissed in a low voice. "Three of them-we can beat them."

Sunstrike peered over Heathertail's left shoulder. "You're right-let's go." She growled, and began slinking forward, low down to the grass to keep her hidden. Following tail-lengths behind, she let out a yowl when the ThunderClan warriors approached them. It didn't appear like they were afraid at all. In fact, it looked like they were quite calm. Sniffing the air, she caught scent of rabbit on the intruders. They were prey stealing!

_"Sunstrike!" _Heathertail hissed urgently. _"Rabbit scent!" _

The younger she-cat nodded. "Let's attack."

* * *

**A/N: So, it's a sort of cliff-hanger. Please review, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! Again, I'm sorry for the lull in between updates. Next chapter should be up by Thursday: check back then! **


	4. Pride and Punishment

**A/N: Thanks to KatieK101, Splashpaw, and Silverdapple for reviewing!**

* * *

_"Attack?! Isn't that rushing things a bit?" _Heathertail replied urgently. It was too late, though. Sunstrike had sprang out. "Intruders!"

"Great StarClan!" Muttered Heathertail. She had no choice, though, but to follow her friend, who had already sprang at Thornclaw before ThunderClan could get a word in edgewise. The three ThunderClan warriors would shred her if Heathertail didn't help.

She was instantly face-to-face with Hazeltail. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the third warrior too, just a blur, was there too, although she couldn't identify it with the rest of her senses focused on the skirmish. Getting on her forepaws, like her opponent, she swung a blow to Hazeltail's face. The ThunderClan cat was unable to block it, coming back with a clumsy blow to flank. Sunstrike leapt up in the air, but missed Hazeltail by a tail-length. All of this happened in a matter of a few moments. _Why does Sunstrike have to be so impulsive? _Wondered Heathertail, completely annoyed. _Onestar will have our tails off for sure! This ruins every chance of us getting Breezepelt back in the Clan! _

Then, in that same heartbeat, Hazeltail let out a low growl. "So now WindClan stoops so low they attack a medicine cat patrol?" Her claws were dug into the ground and her gray and white pelt was fluffed up.

_"What?" _Gasped Heathertail. Sure enough, she saw Jayfeather's face sticking out of a clump of heavy grasses. By the expression on his face, it was clear he had been pushed in the bush, out of harm's way, in the few moments the battle had been going on. "Sunstrike! Stop!" She yowled.

However, it appeared Sunstrike had already realized that. _I need to take charge. _Decided Heathertail. Stepping forward as Jayfeather got out of the tall prairie grasses, she watched him carefully. "I could've helped you-don't see why you had to shove me down like a kit." He grumbled to Thornclaw, which lead Heathertail to believe he was alright.

"I am so sorry-" she began apologetically.

Thornclaw let out an enraged spit. "What were you doing?" His tail was twitching, and he looked like he still wanted a fight.

"Defending out territory! What are _you _doing?" Replied Sunstrike tersely. She was seething, tail lashing and her eyes burning with a bright fire. She still had her claws unsheathed and ready for battle.

"Jayfeather needed to speak to Kestrelflight-he had a sign about something." Thornclaw replied, much more civilized this time. His amber eyes gleamed in the light, giving him a strong appearance.

Before either WindClan cats could reply, the medicine cat added, "And I had a good clump of horsetail too-except its basically shredded now." He gestured to the shreds of herbs on the moor's floor, nothing but pulp now.

Heathertail was about to apologize, but Sunstrike interrupted again. "That's kind of you, but Kestrelflight just found a huge clump a few days ago, so we don't need it too badly." After a moment's pause, she challenged them. "Then what were you doing with rabbit scent on you? Think you can steal from WindClan because we're still recovering from the Great Battle-like the rest of you are?"

"WindClan rabbits are scrawny, hardly worth it. ThunderClan rabbits are plumper then that! We hunt the occasional ones that come out from their holes in the undergrowth! We all shared a rabbit before we left. Two of our warriors brought back one- from ThunderClan territory." Hazeltail took the response this time, her tail was still lashing, and her muscles were tense. "And if you didn't need that horsetail, we certainly could of."

Heathertail rolled her eyes. "Look, we'll escort you to our camp. It's obvious you didn't steal a rabbit." She waited for Thornclaw's nod of approval. When it came, she began leading the ThunderClan cats to the WindClan camp. _Am I really leading enemies in the heart of the territory? _She shook her doubts away. However, before she could go more than a few steps, Sunstrike stopped her.

"Wait-this could be a trick!" She spat, standing in front of Heathertail, a warning thinly veiled in her words.

Heathertail rolled her eyes. "This is _not _a trick. If it was a trick, I think there would be a few more clues, like scents. Even after rolling in mud, the stink of a ThunderClan cat is still clear." She pointed out. "Besides, we just sprang from the only cover on our land to begin with- and a border patrol for _WindClan _is coming this way now." She gasped, looking behind her. _Oh StarClan- please don't tell me they saw us!_

When the patrol came closer she could tell it was Sedgewhisker, Crowfeather, Furzepelt, and Harespring. Harespring was in the lead, like he had been on Heathertail's last patrol.

Sunstrike's face mirrored how Heathertail felt. "Let's just wait here until this patrol reaches us." She muttered, worry coming off her in waves.

Looking bored, Thornclaw nodded, shifting his weight. The patrol neared, pelts bristling. "Sunstrike! Heathertail! What's going on?" Crowfeather mewed angrily. "You should know better than this!"

Sedgewhisker rolled her eyes and flicked her tail over his mouth. "Lighten up, Crowfeather! It's obviously a medicine cat patrol." Her eyes scanned the group of warriors. "Jayfeather. What brings you here?"

Jayfeather held his chin high. "I've had an omen that Kestrelflight should know about."

Something about Jayfeather's stiff pride made Heathertail bristle. _Arrogant furball! _A moment later, she regretted it. Jayfeather was from another clan, but he had saved her, Breezepelt, as well as Sedgewhisker and her siblings when they were young. She should be grateful to him, but he was still an enemy. That was enough to set a boundary between them. That and the fact that he was half-clan.

"Heathertail? Heathertail! Pay attention!" Snapped Harespring in annoyance.

Heathertail snapped back to reality, whiskers twitching with embarrassment.

Harespring gave a nod of satisfaction. "Much better, thank you." The brown and white warrior stood stiffly, and finished his conversation with Sunstrike. "Thank you for so _bravely _attacking this _medicine cat _patrol." The scorn in his voice was clear, and it made Heathertail feel a mix of emotions. Upset, because Harespring had found out, but angry that he treated them so rudely- and in front of ThunderClan, at that!

Then Crowfeather turned to Thornclaw. "I'm sorry for the way these warriors acted. I'll speak to Onestar about them." He glared at them out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't usually this grumpy-it must just have been the encounter with ThunderClan that made him that way. Every cat knew the story of his love for Leafpool. "Now I think we ought to head to camp."

Crowfeather and his patrol set out in the lead, with Heathertail behind. Hazeltail walked beside Jayfeather, nudging him every so often. Thornclaw followed, and an annoyed Sunstrike brought up the rear. When they approached the camp, she noticed two of the apprentices gawking, but decided not to say anything to them. _It'll just get me in more trouble. _

Once in WindClan's camp, Crowfeather gave a stiff nod to the cats gathered nearby. "Jayfeather has come to speak to Kestrelflight!"

Then Onestar appeared from his den, fur dry, unlike Heathertail's, which was slightly damp from the drizzle that consistently fell. "ThunderClan?" He glanced down. "Hello, Jayfeather. Kestrelflight went out at sunhigh to collect herbs-he should be back soon, but I'll send a warrior out to fetch him." Onestar's gaze fell on Furzepelt. "Go fetch Kestrelflight!" He meowed commandingly. Onestar's brown fur was smoothly groomed, it showed his long legs, and Heathertail didn't think he could've looked like a better or stronger leader. Then his gaze fell on Sunstrike and Heathertail, both muddy. Sunstrike had a minor tail wound, and Heathertail had a scratch on her muzzle. "Is there something I should know?"

Sunstrike shook her head vigorously, while Heathertail spoke up. "Yes, Onestar." She hung her head in shame, then continued, "we attacked ThunderClan because we thought they were invading."

Onestar appeared calm, only a single lash of his tail gave his anger away. When he spoke his voice was icy cool. "I see. Go to the warrior's shelter-" WindClan only had a few dens- "and rest. I'll speak to you later.

Heathertail nodded, dipped her head, and walked over to the warrior's shelter, keeping her pride in front of the wide-eyed Thornclaw and Hazeltail. She noticed Jayfeather's tail was twitching impatiently. As she turned away from them, she didn't even bother speaking to Sunstrike, she just wanted to be alone.

* * *

Despite her efforts, Heathertail slept poorly. At some point, though, she dozed off, because she awoke to a paw prodding her side gently. "Wake up, Heathertail! Onestar wants to speak to you now." It was Sedgewhisker, her voice just a whisper. "Good luck."

Getting up and giving her fur a few good licks, she nodded thankfully to her friend. "I'll need it, he looked mad as a hornet earlier!" Sedgewhisker nodded in agreement, and Heathertail padded out into the open, where Sunstrike was waiting patiently. "Sorry I got you into this mess!" She murmured.

Heathertail shrugged. "Not your fault." She knew that was a bit of a lie, it was mostly Sunstrike's fault, but she wasn't going to throw all the blame on her best friend. Besides, they were in this together.

Sunstrike let out a purr of thanks, then padded up the slope to Onestar's den, where the leader was eating a small rabbit and waiting for them. As he heard their pawsteps, he looked up. "Please sit down." He insisted smoothly. There was not thunderbolts- yet.

After another bite, he swallowed and spoke again. "You two were a disappointment today. Harespring and I spoke, he said from a distance it was clear what you were doing."

"How do you know he wasn't lying? Or seeing an allusion?" Heathertail pressed, hoping to redeem herself and her friend.

Onestar let out an annoyed snort. "So you're denying attacking three warriors without any question of why they were on our territory."

Heathertail hung her head. "No...it was my fault, I lead Sunstrike into it." She bluffed. _I can deal with my father, just as long as Sunstrike doesn't get punished _too _badly. _She decided proudly.

Sunstrike raised her hackles a bit. "What? No, I lead _Heathertail _into it. Blame me."

Heathertail shook her head just the tiniest bit, but rapidly. This earned an amused _mrrow _from Onestar, but his voice was still serious as stone. "I think both of you are equally as guilty. Questioning before attacking is one of the first things an apprentice learns on border patrol. What if that had been three warriors trying to get our help? Cats could have died."

Seeing the two tuck their tails, the leader ended his lecture. "I think you two have learned your lesson, but I'm confining you to camp for a day, which you can use to help Kestrelflight and search the elders for ticks. That means the rest of today and all of tomorrow."

Both warriors knew they couldn't protest. "Yes, Onestar." The two agreed in unison.

"Good. You're dismissed." He nodded abruptly to them, then stood up and walked out of the den with them. Once he was out of sight, Heathertail breathed a sigh of relief. "Whew. I thought we'd get it worse than that." Still, the idea of apprentice tasks appeased her. They would be the talk of the clan for a few days.

"Exactly. Thanks for standing up for me." Sunstrike replied gratefully, licking her pelt a few times to get a burr out.

"It was nothing." She returned modestly. Then a thought struck her. "I wonder what that sign was. The one that Jayfeather had to deliver."

"Nothing important, I'm betting." The tortoiseshell decided. "But I'm also betting I'll be in big trouble with Plumpaw if I don't go see her, I promise I'd help with the roll-and-slash battle move, because I'm pretty good at it."

"Okay, I won't keep you." Heathertail responded, watching as her friend walked away.

* * *

**A/N: Not my best, I know. Hope you liked it! Excitement coming soon!**


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